The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.

Please watch this video it's so fucking funny it kills me every time to just watch this fucking dude activate goddamn psychic powers he seems to think all human beings possess. An absolutely exquisite 52 seconds of your time

And to think I considered Gianni Infantino such a shrewd judge of character

Tonight, the President of the United States has launched an unconstitutional war of aggression, dooming another generation to spill their blood for oil, and lay waste to a sovereign nation. I demand that Congress exercise its power, halt this conflict, and impeach this war criminal president.

"Grok says". Embarrassing.

I cannot emphasize enough that the attempts to anthropomorphize an algorithm is a fundamental act of journalistic malpractice and an intentional act to shield the people responsible for this. It's fucking shameful.

Last call! I promise you it's worth it.

Vessel names being italicised is a daft rule, IMO. Don't understand why it's a thing

There's only 1 day left until our @simogo.com collaboration Deluxe Editions for "Heartbeats, Dreams and Laser Eyes" closes 💓 The folks over there are absolutely dreamy, so we recommend getting in before they drift away... 💭| 🔗⬇️

this was 2025, as told by 91 writers across the world intothespine.com/2025/12/31/s...

Pre-orders may have started a little while ago, but the wonderful folks @simogo.com have said it best when we first launched "Heartbeats, Dreams and Laser Eyes"! www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEGh... There's only 2 DAYS LEFT to get your Deluxe Edition pre-orders in 🏃💨| 🔗📖⬇️

keep fighting

Today is the last day you're legally allowed to read about 2025 games, so I'm gonna share my GOTY list one more time. Anyone who clicks this after today will be running afoul of the law: medium.com/@abrambuehne...

One of the most exciting things was the launch of The Art of Still Wakes the Deep in the summer, which I wrote across a few months last year. Much more than an artbook, it goes DEEP (pun intended) into the making of the game, featuring interviews with a good chunk of the people behind it.

Bad at the old self-promotion thing, aren't I. You've got a couple more days to preorder the deluxe edition: www.lostincult.co.uk/simogo

I only owned a GameCube at this point. Eventful year: spent two weeks recovering from a(nother) botched procedure with Prime and played through REmake with my wife on the day her car was set alight. Eternal Darkness still has the best jump-scare ever. But it was Wind Waker then and probably now.

Not a bad way to round off the year

A brief selection of things I wrote and liked this year, all now paywall-free. There'll be much more free stuff coming in 2026, but if you subscribe RIGHT NOW you get 50% off your first three months. First, a tribute to the late, great Tomonobu Itagaki newsletter.hitpoints.co/341-itagaki-...

~Circumstances~ meant I played fewer video games this year than...maybe any other since I started writing about them? Here are some I particularly enjoyed: Despelote Hades II Consume Me Simogo Legacy Collection Promise Mascot Agency Spooky Express Fulcrum Defender Öoo (1/2)

WarioWare then and now, though I spent a *lot* of time that year with A Wonderful Life. Shout-out to my boy Viewtiful Joe, of course. And maybe still the best Prince of Persia.

Terrible, always a total magnet. His story about getting cast in Goodfellas, basically his first movie, is so charming www.avclub.com/isiah-whitlo...

1/20/26

Reallllly neat short and bold indie game here. Only $2.24 on Steam right now! An excellent game to take you into next year.

This is the completely unofficial, The Artbook Collector Official Awards of 2025 thread 🏆🥳 44 new books joined the collection that were published this year, so I can now have a fun look back with 13 artbook awards! (1/16)

thank you, Cecilia, for giving us the absolute best visual metaphor for many, many video game remasters & movie 4K transfers

2025 recapped

for the holidays: I went blog mode on my modern Star Wars pet peeve: people quoting Kylo Ren like he’s right kotaku.com/star-wars-la...

Hello, Bluesky! I'm probably best known for my work @ Naughty Dog, where I spent 21+ years helping make Uncharted, TLOU2, & Jak. Prior to that, I worked in feature/tv animation, including a certain RHCP video. Currently doing game narrative consulting, baking, walking my dog, & not sleeping enough

Between IMMORTALITY, Skin Deep, Jett: The Far Shore and Spooky Express, few composers/sound designers are doing such consistently good/varied work as Priscilla IMO

Please share if you can. Nick was such a huge part of the mag.

Had a largely terrible year overall. I've felt increasingly isolated/alone/ignored/overlooked, and my self worth has taken an absolute pummelling. Still, I shipped two books, wrote a third, and edited/proofed several more. Spite, it turns out, is a pretty powerful motivator.

With three essays and captions/footnotes to go, book three is officially my biggest LIC project to date...

Guess I'm Dune Fine

twentysomething comedians criticising Stewart Lee for having a go at Russell Howard

twentysomething comedians criticising Stewart Lee for having a go at Russell Howard

Being left off recent starter packs of games media people *and* video game book/periodical makers is an amusing and instructive epitome of my two decades in this business.

Nik’s funeral is taking place on 30th December at 1pm GMT. For those that can’t attend, the funeral will be live-streamed. We have tried to contact as many of Nik’s friends as we could, but we may have missed some. The link is watch.obitus.com username: cuma6886 pin:962499

i’m hearing reports that IMMORTALITY is the official selection by gamers for maximum cozying up on the couch / by the fireplace vibes… ❤️‍🔥 and!! wishlisting PROJECT C and PROJECT D is the next coziest thing you can do this winter break 😇

🔔 FREE MINI INKLE WEB GAME 🔔

Twenty years on and I still think this is the most breathtaking sequence ever put in a videogame. Testament to the fact that scale and awe are not virtues of graphical horsepower alone

@harada-tekken.bsky.social This is the most politely gathered gathering I have ever witnessed..

A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the team at Lost In Cult! 💀 From our amazing community and customers, to the tireless work of our staff, publishing and manufacturing partners, we’re extremely grateful for all the love and graft! THANK YOU! 🎄

Now that’s a list

Finally, it’s Blorko’s time to shine

Saw a forum post decrying a GOTY pick by citing its modest concurrent user count on Steam, and if you think that is in any way a useful indicator of a game's quality then you shouldn't be allowed to use the computer.

What a year. GTA IV remains my favourite of that series by a distance, but I can't deny my love for Fable II, a rare game my wife actually sat and watched me play from start to finish. Mirror's Edge, Far Cry 2 (still the best one!), PoP (which I liked more than most), L4D... we ate good, as they say

How did they do this on a PS2. It felt like the future at the time and in so many ways it still does now

Still thinking about the basketball bit in The Phoenician Scheme.